Feb. 14, 08
The Florida Masters is always a great way to start the Midwinter circuit. There were two days of great racing with 47 competitors. The first day we sailed outside in the Atlantic, with a great breeze out of the Southeast to start the day. The race committee managed three races on the day, all windward/leewards.
On the Atlantic here, it's all about the current, and so the plan is always to make a beeline to the shore when it is against you. That meant starting at the boat, tacking and heading right as quickly as you could. That was my plan, and my start at the boat was good enough to put me in the corner I wanted, except for one hitch I had to make to find a lane. On my way to my lane, I say John McCausland and Ari Bashsi headed over the to the left and into the stronger current and thought, "those guys are better than me, and they are over here, maybe I need to be over here." I stayed to the left and let the fleet go to the current-free corner. Guess what? John and Ari are good, but sometimes they make mistakes, and Ari ended up 37, and John a bit better, and I 16th. Lesson learned: Believe in yourself.
In the second race, I got the start I wanted, except for a little tap on the transom of the guy just ahead of me on the line. I had to spin, and, combined with a swim, put me back in the 30s at the top mark. I spent the downwind leg doing my best Tony Robbins act, working as hard to convince myself to keep going and not to cut my own throat as I was the boat and the waves.
The only thing to do was go left on the second leg. There was a system breeze predicted to fill in from the Northeast, and maybe that was the breeze John and Ari were looking for in the first race. Off to the left corner I went, and I did get a lovely lift on port up to the mark, which pulled me into the teens again. The downwind leg saw a dying breeze that left me about 16 boat lengths from the third place boat. Unfortunately, there were about 12 other boats in those 16 lengths. Another mid-teen finish.
But the day belonged to another D3 sailor, Joe Van Rossem. He finished with a 4-4, and led the fleet even without counting his GGM points. A great showing for one of our great sailors.
The second day was blowing 16 to 24 knots, so it was time for the Radial. We sailed inside this time, which meant shifts, flat water and going to the shore lines for even flatter water. During the first two races the tide was against us, and it was easy to pick a nice leeward start, head to the inshore side of the lake, and tack to the mark. I was consistently working with top-ten boat speed throughout the day, the radial not being a disadvantage at all. Downwind, I even managed to catch a few big rigs that just couldn't seem to get the waves right. The entire day was a hoot, except for my start in race two. That was another lesson learned.
I was lining up to come in late at the boat end. As I sat, the line filled up with boats, and at about 30 seconds to go, I realized the front row was completely full with guys who knew how to handle their boats. There was little movement, and absolutely no room. Usually, when you have a less experienced fleet, someone lets a hole open somewhere and you can exploit it. Not this time. To make my situation worse, I was completely boxed in. If I was high, I could have tacked away, gybed and run down the line to find a hole, but there were two boats directly above me. If I was lower, I could have bore off, run the line again, and found a hole. But my only move was to put it in reverse and back out, and I just didn't think I had the skill to do it well enough in that breeze. I was stuck and the result showed. Where the other races with good starts netted me a 6-9-9, that one ended in a 17 and a throwout.
Joe had a rougher day and did not finish two races due to breakdowns. He hung in, however, and managed a nice 7 in the third race of the day.
In the end, the regatta belonged to Mike Mattan, from Cedar Point. He is such a powerful guy, and so steady on the tiller, that his speed in the conditions was just too much. He went left, he went right, he went where he wanted and got three bullets that day to show for it. A great day for him, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.